GU Mobile App Prototype Released

The university has developed a prototype for a mobile application that could soon become a one-stop shop for many student services.

University Information Services and the Office of the Chief Operating Officer partnered with Modo Labs, a technology design company whose mobile platform has already been adopted by Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brown University, to design the product.

The apps will serve to connect student resources, like current Georgetown University Transportation Shuttle arrival times. The development team is also working on a campus directory through which students will be able to access emergency resources, campus maps, O'Donovan Hall menus, campus events, the school calendar and contact information for students, faculty and staff.

"What is exciting about working with Modo is that it gives us the framework to leverage a lot of apps that students here and at other universities have already created, apps catered specifically towards student needs, and pull them in and build upon our framework," University Chief Information Officer Lisa Davis said at a Hoya Roundtable Wednesday in O'Donovan Hall.

Eventually, the team hopes to be able to include features such as a laundry tracker, which would require extra technology to be installed within existing laundry appliances, and a GPS locator for SafeRides.

According to Davis, the developers may soon allow students to submit apps that could be added to the pre-existing platform.

"There is innovation already occurring in the student body," she said. "We want to figure out how we can leverage that innovation with what you are already doing."

According to Georgetown University Student Association Secretary of Information and Technology Michael Crouch, the idea for a smartphone app sprang from conversations between students and University Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Chris Augostini.

"The conversation we had was based around how we saw long-term IT strategy developing for the university," Crouch said. "That conversation turned into a number of different discussions in order to try and get this prototype off the ground."

Although a prototype of the app has been developed, a timeline for the release of a final version has not been determined.

According to Davis, the app will be compatible with iPhones, iPads, Macbooks and Droids and is designed to provide a way to improve student life and resources at Georgetown.

"The idea is to funnel all of your ideas and suggestions in order to figure out how technology can reshape your experience here at Georgetown," she said. "Ultimately, we are making the right decisions and taking the next steps here at Georgetown."